This invention relates to adjusting wheel bearings in automotive vehicles, such as medium and heavy duty trucks, and more particularly, to a wheel bearing end play setting device which takes-up the bearing end play and provides accurate and consistent readings of the bearing end play and also to a method of setting the wheel bearing end play.
Automotive wheel bearings usually are tapered roller bearings disposed on each axial end of the wheel and positioned so that pressing the inner bearing race tightens the tapered roller bearings. Normally, adjustment of the bearing end play is done by tightening the bearing with an adjustable castellated nut threaded on the axle spindle to a snug position and then backing off the castellated nut a predetermined fraction of a turn and setting a cotter key to lock the nut on the spindle. Although this method of wheel bearing adjusting has been generally satisfactory, it has been found to be inconsistent in the amount of end play produced and provides no indication of the actual bearing end play. If a bearing were too tight or too loose, it may fail requiring at least the replacement of the bearing.